Great Facts / A Popular History and Description of the Most Remarkable Inventions During the Present Century

by Frederick C. Bakewell

The accompanying engraving of one of the recently constructed engines on the Great Western Railway presents a remarkable difference in point of size and general arrangement to the original prototype, from which, however, it does not materially differ in the principle of its construction.

The complete success of the "Rocket" having settled the question of the mode of traction, the Directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway made increased efforts to complete the line, and to open it for general traffic. In September, 1830, all was ready for the opening, which it was determined should take place with a ceremony indicative of the importance of the great event. The principal members of the Government consented to take part in the inauguration of the railway, and the utmost interest was excited throughout the country for the success of an undertaking that promised to be the commencement of a new era in travelling. The 15th of September was the day appointed, and there were eight locomotive engines provided to propel the same number of trains of carriages, which were to form the procession. All along the line there were crowds of persons collected to witness the ceremony. The trains started from the Liverpool end of the railway; and, as they passed along, they were greeted by the cheers of the astonished and delighted spectators. On arriving at Parkside, seventeen miles from Liverpool, the engines stopped to take in fresh supplies of fuel and water. The passengers alighted and walked upon the line, congratulating one another on the delightful treat they were enjoying, and on the success of the great experiment. All hearts were bounding with joyous excitement, when a disastrous event occurred, which threw a deep gloom over the scene. The Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Huskisson were among those who were walking on the railway, when one of the engines was recklessly put in action, and propelled along the line. There was a general rush to the carriages, and Mr. Huskisson, in trying to enter his carriage, slipped backwards and fell upon the rails. The wheels of the engine passed over his leg and thigh, and he was so severely injured, that he expired in a few hours.

Notwithstanding this lamentable occurrence, the journey was continued to Manchester, and the carriages returned to Liverpool the same evening. On the following morning the regular trains commenced running, and they were crowded with passengers, nothing daunted by the fatal calamity on the opening day.

The immense advantages of this mode of travelling were at once apparent, and lines of railway in different parts of the country were quickly projected. The railway from London to Birmingham was the first one commenced after the completion of the Liverpool and Manchester line, and a connecting link with Manchester and Liverpool was also begun by a separate company. The Birmingham Railway was opened throughout on the 17th September, 1838.

Railway enterprise was not checked by the great cost of the undertakings, nor by the miscalculations of the engineers, who, in the first instance, frequently greatly under-estimated the expenditure requisite for the cuttings, embankments and tunnels, which were thought necessary to attain as perfect a level as possible. The original estimate for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was £300,000, but the amount expended on the works at the time of opening was nearly £800,000. The original estimate of the London and Birmingham Railway, including the purchase of land, and the locomotives and carriages, was £2,500,000, whilst the actual cost amounted to £5,600,000, the cost of the works and stations being about £38,000 per mile. The Grand Junction Railway, from Birmingham to Liverpool, was more economically constructed, because the difficulties to be surmounted were not so great, and less attention was paid to maintain a level line. It was estimated to cost, including all charges, £13,300 per mile, though the actual cost was £23,200.

The plan adopted for laying down and fixing the rails on all the railways in England, with the exception of the Great Western, is nearly similar to that on which the original coal-pit railways were constructed. Pieces of timber, called "sleepers," are laid at short distances across the road, and on to these sleepers are fixed cast iron "chairs," into which the rails are fastened by wedges, the sleepers being afterwards covered with gravel or other similar material, called "ballast," to make the timbers lie solidly, and to keep the road dry.

The railway system of Great Britain was commenced without sufficient attention to the determination of the best width apart of the rails. In forming the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the guage of the railways in the collieries was adopted, and the width between the rails was made 4 feet 8½ inches. The same width of rails was adopted on the London and Birmingham and Grand Junction Railways; and as uniformity of guage was essential to enable the engines and carriages on one line to travel on another, the other railways connected with the grand trunk line were made of the same width of guage. Mr. Brunel, the engineer of the Great Western Railway, departed from that uniformity, and laid down the rails 7 feet apart. The increased width of guage possesses many advantages, of which greater steadiness of motion and greater attainable speed, without risk, are the most important; but, at the same time, the additional space incurs a greater expense in laying out the line. As branches from the Great Western Railway spread into the districts where the narrow guage railways had been laid down, much inconvenience has arisen from the break of guage, as it occasions the necessity for a change of carriages. On some railways, to avoid this inconvenience, narrow and broad guage rails have been laid down on the same line.

If the railway system of Great Britain were to be recommenced, after the experience that has now been acquired, the medium guage would most probably be adopted; and in commencing to lay down railways in Ireland, the Irish Railway Commissioners recommended 6 feet 2 inches as the most desirable width, and that standard has been advantageously adopted in the sister country.

Travelling experience tells greatly in favour of the broad gauge. There is no railway out of London whereon the carriages run so smoothly, and on which the passengers are so conveniently accommodated, as on the Great Western. The speed attained on that railway also surpasses that on any other. The express train runs from London to Bristol, a distance of 120 miles, in less than three hours. The author accompanied an experimental train, when one of the large engines was first put upon the line, and during some portion of the journey a rate of 70 miles an hour was accomplished without any inconvenient oscillation.